Isn't there already something like this in the US? A few years ago I was at a friend's house, and his TV was tuned to some channel that looked as if the camera was just sitting on a ranch up in the mountains. You could see farm animals grazing, laying around, and all you heard was the sounds of nature. He said it was part of a series of channels that just show nature footage. It actually was peaceful, but the novelty wore off after about ten minutes.

Well, I don't even have a TV. What makes not having a TV so interesting is all the different threat levels you encounter in letters from the TV Licensing DPT (Big Bro) who feel absolutely certain one is watching paint drying on a wall somewhere else. Then they tell you that they are watching you while you are watching paint drying on a wall somewhere else even when you're not watching paint drying on a wall anyplace. So you will eventually need a TV license to watch the paint drying on your own wall when you paint it because that is infringement of paint drying on a wall copyright - which they own and for which you will be fined when caught. So it is only reasonable to buy a TV license regardless of what you are doing, not doing, planning to do, or, might just get around to doing someday even if you never ever get to do it at all.

This is actually very therapeutic television. It started with a real-time broadcast of the train ride between Oslo and Bergen -- with some spectacular nature shots, then the express ferry along the Norwegian coast. Finally, the recent real-time coverage of the World Championship in chess, which was totally addictive (and which our own Magnus Carlsen won).

I hope it will hit it off in the US, although I doubt it a little bit. For some reason, I picture you as being a far more 'action-oriented' society.

This is actually very therapeutic television. It started with a real-time broadcast of the train ride between Oslo and Bergen -- with some spectacular nature shots, then the express ferry along the Norwegian coast. Finally, the recent real-time coverage of the World Championship in chess, which was totally addictive (and which our own Magnus Carlsen won).

I hope it will hit it off in the US, although I doubt it a little bit. For some reason, I picture you as being a far more 'action-oriented' society.

The real-time chess coverage sounds good. Did it have commentary? Wouldn't work without it, of course, for most viewers below IM level.

Absolutely. There was a split-screen type thing where the game was shown in one window and the studio panel in the other, with expert commentators drawing up possible strategies etc. It's an absolutely crucial component, of course.

Absolutely. There was a split-screen type thing where the game was shown in one window and the studio panel in the other, with expert commentators drawing up possible strategies etc. It's an absolutely crucial component, of course.

Sounds great. I really enjoyed it when England had a contender, Nigel Short, in the 90s. Those televised matches were what got me into playing. The commentary helped me to see chess as very different from the boring game I remembered from my childhood.

Same here. I usually suck at chess (as I'm not very good at strategic and mathematical thinking), but watching this was an eye-opener. I still won't be good at it, but I understand a lot more about the inner mechanics.

This doesn't appeal to me at all. I'd rather spend the time I could spend watching a journey on TV strolling around my neighborhood (or a park or, well, almost anything) instead. But then I've never watched TV either to "veg" or for meditative purposes anyway.